Baked Autumn Vegetables

Looking for an easy meatless side dish? Then check out this baked vegetable recipe.

Ingredients

1

small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lb)

2

medium unpeeled Yukon gold or red potatoes

1

medium red onion

1

large dark-orange sweet potato or yam (about 1/2 lb)

1

clove garlic or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Cooking spray for greasing pan

1

lb ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots

2

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1

tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves

1

tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary leaves

1/2

teaspoon salt

Directions

1Wash the squash. Using a chef's knife, carefully cut off the bottom and stem ends of the squash. Cut the narrow part (neck) from the rounded bottom part of the squash; cut the rounded bottom in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibers from the bottom halves and discard. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the neck and 2 bottom halves. Cut squash into 1-inch pieces.

2Scrub the potatoes thoroughly with a vegetable brush and water to remove any dirt, but do not peel. Cut each potato into eighths. Peel the onion; cut into 16 wedges and separate pieces. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1-inch pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

3Heat the oven to 425°F. Spray a 15x10x1-inch pan with the cooking spray. Place the squash, potatoes, onion, sweet potato and carrots in the pan. Pour the oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle with the garlic, sage, rosemary and salt. Stir to coat vegetables.

4Roast uncovered 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender when pierced with a fork.

Expert Tips

Omit the olive oil and instead spray the pan and vegetables with olive oil-flavored cooking spray to reduce the calories to 90 and the fat to 0 grams per serving.

Butternut squash resembles the shape of a light bulb or pear--it's wider at one end. It usually weighs between 2 and 3 pounds and has a golden yellow to caramel-colored shell. You can also use about 1 1/2 pounds of other winter squash, such as Hubbard or buttercup.

Sweet potatoes with darker-colored skins are generally more moist and flavorful than the lighter ones.

Cut off bottom and stem ends of squash. Cut the narrow part (neck) off and cut the rounded bottom in half.